Another brand new oil-based skin care product worth mentioning is Clarins Double Serum Complete Age Control Concentrate, $85. Clarins scientists tested hundreds of botanical oils, and then narrowed that big list down to the top 20 anti-agers. Then, they packed them all into this one, skin-perfecting product.
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Cleansing Oil
When it comes to using oil on your skin, cleansing oils may be the most counterintuitive. "But you have to fight oil with oil," says Vargas. One of my favorites is Lierac Demaquillant Velours Cleansing Oil, $26, which launched last year. It contains macadamia and jojoba oils to dissolve makeup and cleanse the skin. You apply it to dry skin -- yes, it feels a little strange at first -- and then emulsify it with water. You'll never want to use a harsh gel cleanser again.
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Lip treatment
Josie Maran's eponymous line was one of the first to the oil party. Not only are her Argan-based products amazing, she keeps coming up with inventive ways to use her favorite ingredient. One of her most recent creations is Josie Maran Argan High Gloss Lip Quench, $16, a sheer gloss that's incredibly moisturizing. And the consistency will surprise you -- it's so not greasy.
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Shampoo
My hair is fine, but it's also dry, and most volumizing shampoos make it feel like broom bristles. When I discovered Shu Uemura Cleansing Oil Shampoo, $55, all of that changed. It helps get rid of styling-product residue, yet it makes my scalp feel moisturized (not greasy). It also gives me just the right amount of volume without turning my hair into an impossible-to-comb-through tangle.
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Salon hair color
When L'Oréal recently invented oil-based, ammonia-free hair color technology, they did the smart thing and applied it to many of their hair care brands. L'Oréal Professionnel Inoa was the first to pop up in salons, and Redken Chromatics soon followed. The oil delivery system (ODS) technology helps the color penetrate the hair strands, causing less damage. In fact, it's moisturizing. Pretty revolutionary for hair color, right?
I can't open a magazine or scroll through my Google Reader lately without finding a story on skin care oils. (I covered the best oils for every skin type last year.) But so much of what I'm reading is totally missing the point: Oils aren't just for skin these days. Every beauty category -- from hair color to nail care -- is having an oil boom.
Women have been using beauty oils for ages. In fact, the history of beauty oils can be traced back to ancient Egypt (Cleopatra used perfume oils -- natch). But then in the '90s and '00s, women everywhere seemed to want oil-free everything. "Is that foundation oil free?" That was the question every beauty counter employee fielded for a couple decades. But trends change -- as they always do -- and I couldn't be happier that the oil revolution is here.
"Oils are nurturing to the skin," says celebrity facialist Joanna Vargas. "So many ingredients -- like glycolic acids and soaps -- strip the skin of all its oil, making it dry and forcing it to produce more oil." Miami dermatologist Leslie Baumann, MD, is also an oil advocate -- for body as well as face. She loves oils because many of them are more than just awesome moisturizers -- they're also loaded with antioxidants. Celebrity manicurist Jin Soon Choi swears by oils for nails and cuticles, and celebrity hairstylist Jen Atkin loves them for hair. "You can use oils for everything from scalp treatments to styling," she says.
I tried dozens of the newest oils -- as well as a few cult classics -- to come up with a beauty routine that's almost entirely oil-based. And before you freak out about some of these prices, remember: When it comes to beauty oils, a little goes a long way.
